Jester hops for grapefruit in a modern English pale ale

An English hop bred for fruit

For most of the twentieth century, English hop breeding chased disease resistance and alpha acid. Flavour meant earthy, floral and spicy, in the Fuggle and Goldings mould. When American citrus hops took over pale ales, English growers started breeding for fruit as well.

Jester came out of that push and reached brewers in the early 2010s from a private English breeding programme. It grows in the traditional English hop counties. Its aroma is often described as grapefruit, lychee and blackcurrant, with some tropical fruit. Alpha acid is moderate, usually around 7 to 9%, so it can bitter as well as add aroma.

How it compares with American citrus hops

Jester is not a straight Cascade replacement. It tends to be softer and less piney than the classic American citrus varieties. Many brewers find English-grown fruit hops gentler than the American classics from Washington's Yakima Valley, with less resin and a rounder citrus note.

That softness is useful. In a pale ale with English malt, Jester gives fruit without the resinous punch that can make an American-hopped beer taste harsh against biscuity Maris Otter. Think of it as citrus with manners.

Getting the grapefruit out of it

Like most aroma hops, Jester saves its best for late in the process. Its oils are volatile and boil off quickly. Use it in three places:

• Ten minutes before the end of the boil, for flavour.
• A whirlpool or hop stand at 75 to 80 °C for 20 to 30 minutes, for flavour and aroma with modest bitterness.
• A dry hop at 3 to 5 g per litre for three to four days near the end of fermentation.

Below about 2 g per litre in the dry hop, the grapefruit is easy to miss. Above about 6 g per litre, many brewers find vegetal and grassy notes creep in.

A modern English pale ale at home

Here is a 20 litre pale ale at about OG 1.050 and 35 IBU:

• Maris Otter pale malt 4.1 kg (92%).
• Light crystal malt around 30 EBC 0.22 kg (5%).
• Wheat malt 0.13 kg (3%).
• A clean bittering hop such as Magnum, 60 minutes, for about 20 IBU.
• Jester 30 g at 10 minutes for about 11 IBU.
• Jester 40 g in a 20 minute whirlpool at 80 °C for a few more.
• Jester 70 g dry hop for three days.

Ferment with a clean, low ester English yeast or a neutral American ale yeast at 18 to 19 °C. A fruity English strain can muddy the grapefruit.

The floor detail: oxygen in the dry hop

Dry hopping at home introduces oxygen. Every time you open the fermenter, air comes in. Pellets also carry air into the beer. Oxygen dulls hop aroma within weeks and turns fresh grapefruit into something stale and papery.

Two habits help. Add the dry hop while fermentation is still slightly active, around a gravity point or two above final, so the yeast can scavenge some oxygen. And open the lid as briefly as you can. If you have a fermenter with a dry hop port, use it. Then drink the beer young. A Jester pale ale is best within a month or two of packaging.

Pairing Jester with other hops

Jester pairs well with its English stablemates. Harlequin adds passion fruit. Olicana adds mango. A blend of two English fruit hops can give a pale ale that tastes modern while every hop is English grown.

For a transatlantic beer, pair Jester with a small amount of a tropical American variety such as El Dorado. Keep Jester as the majority of the late hops so its softer profile leads.

Storing and sourcing in India

English aroma hops arrive in India less often than American varieties, so stock can be patchy. Buy sealed foil packs, check the harvest year and keep them in the freezer. Aroma hops lose oil faster than they lose alpha acid. A pack that has spent a summer at room temperature in Delhi can still bitter, but much of its grapefruit will be gone.

If Jester is out, a blend of Cascade and a small amount of a softer English hop gets you into the same area. It will not be identical. Hops rarely are.

Why the same hop tastes different in two beers

Jester in a lean pale ale and Jester in a hazy beer with oats will not taste the same. Malt, yeast, water and the timing of each addition all shape which hop compounds survive and how they come across. Hop oils even change during fermentation, as yeast transforms some of them into new aroma compounds. Understanding that chemistry is the difference between hoping a beer tastes of grapefruit and designing it to.

Common questions

What does Jester taste like?

Jester is usually described as grapefruit, lychee and blackcurrant with some tropical fruit. It is softer and less piney than classic American citrus hops.

Is Jester an English hop?

Yes. It was bred and is grown in England, from a private breeding programme that reached brewers in the early 2010s.

How much Jester should I dry hop with?

Around 3 to 5 g per litre for three to four days is a good starting range for a pale ale.